Pence to North Korea: The Sword Stands Ready

Continuing to play up the idea of a military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, Vice President Mike Pence today warned North Korea not to “challenge our resolve,” insisting that “the sword stands ready” and the US would meet any challenge with overwhelming force.

Pence’s comments come amid soaring tensions with North Korea, and with both China and Russia expressing concern that the US might unilaterally attack the isolated nation. US officials have done nothing to alleviate those concerns, playing up the idea of “solving” the North Korea problem militarily.

Pence made the comments abroad the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which is in Japan at the moment. The aircraft carrier expected to participate in the attack on North Korea, the USS Carl Vinson, is said to be en route, but won’t arrive for at least another week.

North Korea has threatened to retaliate against any US attack, and is promising continued missile tests to bolster its retaliatory capabilities. Those tests are themselves being presented by US officials as a “provocation” that might ultimately convince the US to “take care of” the nation.

7 thoughts on “Pence to North Korea: The Sword Stands Ready”

This could mean the submarines are in position even if the carriers aren’t. Subs would be the heavy hitters after any land-based assets in any initial strike as they carry 1/3 more missiles (154) – than Alrleigh Burke destroyers (96). Also THAAD is more or less in place.

The U.K. paper The Sun is one of the few news outlets to examine North Korea’s defensive capabilities. “Hidden Army: Most of North Korea’s Military Bases Are Underground”, (Grant Rollings, Martin Phillips, Apr. 17, 2017).

Quoting experts who say N.K. is the most fortified country in the world, the article states the N.K. have around 8000 known facilities and maybe 84 tunnels leading underneath the DMZ into South Korea.

If the idea is to bury the North Koreans in their own bunkers, its going to take a bit of bombing.

The Japanese might do OK; North Korean missiles have never really been confirmed as being able to reliably reach Japan let alone strike accurately.

Otherwise, the Fukushima reactors might expect to be prime targets. The N.K. then wouldn’t have to worry about using nukes; they are already there.

The Americans lose little; bases abroad turn host countries into battlegrounds, not the U.S. itself. There is no way the North Koreans can deliver nukes to the U.S. mainland, except via terrorist means like hiding a device in a ship.